Col Springs Gazette

From classroom to front line

First cadets since Vietnam head to war By Jeremy Meyer and Ed Sealover The Gazette

The events of Sept. 11th and the ongoing battle against terrorism were the undercurrent of Wednesday's Air Force Academy graduation.

It was on the lips of nearly everyone who spoke to the 929 graduates - from the invocation that started the festivities to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's speech to the whispered concerns of graduates' parents.

This is the first class of cadets to step from the academy into a state of war since Vietnam.

Perhaps no one felt the relevancy of military conflict more than 24-year-old Hassan Rizwan from Pakistan, one of seven international graduates among the Class of 2002. Rizwan will return to serve his country's military in a region where the fight has been raging.

With cigar in hand and receiving hugs from friends, Rizwan watched the F-16 Thunderbirds slice the air above Falcon Stadium. Sounds of jet engines soon will be in his future, he said.

"I'm going to have to go back and join the Pakistan Air Force and fight the war against terrorism," he said. "But I'm ready. I'll go fight for freedom."

So will Jeromy Guinther - much to the mixed emotions of his parents.

Guinther was wavering on his career choice until the terrorist attacks. The Reading, Pa., native quickly decided to go to pilot training.

His father, Ed, remembers that conversation and how he explained to his son that if he threw stones at the enemy, they were going to throw stones back. But Jeromy's mind was set.

"I'm very proud, very happy, very exhilarated. I want to go smoke a cigar with him," Ed Guinther said.

But he added: "It scares the s--- out of me."

The ongoing war against terrorism also was on the minds of people like Judy DeLongchamp of Miami Springs, Fla., whose son, Charles, was graduating. She wore his photo on a button pinned to her shirt.

"In lieu of 9-11, it's scary knowing one day he may have to fight for our country," she said. "I don't think hardly any parent wants to see her son or daughter go off to fight, but that's why we're free."

Jean Stimpson of Peachtree City, Ga., had the same trepidations involving her son, Robert, who is off to pilot training in Columbus, Miss.

She stood and cheered with 20 other friends and family members while he crossed the stage. But afterward she paused, thinking about the world in which he is about to become a pilot.

"This is what he wanted to do," she said. "It wasn't so much to serve for himself as to serve for all of us.

"Because the world is the way it is, the reason he's going is all the more stronger. So all I can do is support him."

Robert E. Ransom from Hampton, Va., wore a ribbon that said "Proud Grandpa" and was there to support his granddaughter, Brandi Erin Ransom. He had been in the Air Force and her father was in the Army.

He knows war is part of the deal.

"It's not something you can worry about," he said.

Some in the crowd were even eager to see their loved ones serve their country.

Second Lt. Jerimy Maclellan, a 2001 academy graduate who is now in pilot training, cheered on his fiancee, Kylie Adams. Due to be married in December, the pair are excited about entering the Air Force together, even at a time of strife, he said.

"I bet there's a lot of anxiety," Maclellan said while looking down at old friends. "I think there are a lot of people here who can't wait to graduate and do their part for this country."

Sandra Kirkpatrick, whose son Kenneth was graduating, said her family puts its trust in God when thinking about war.

"We know God is in control," she said, sitting in the stands with 25 relatives, who yelled loudly when Kenneth's name was called.

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2002

Answers

I wish we didn't have to put young men in danger like that. Isn't that why we have nukes? Just drop a couple over there. that should shut them assholes up, right?

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2002